Upon arriving at Xin San Village, one finds that most of the adults have gone to the mountains to farm, while only a few elderly people and children remain at home.
Apart from digging trenches near the mountains, the rest of the village remained unchanged, making it practically open to the public.
"Excuse me, which house does Si Zhengwei live in?" Yun Qi asked an old man who was arranging wild mushrooms.
"Are you looking for Accountant Si? They should all be in the fields by now, but his wife is home. Just walk straight ahead from here, it's the fourth house." The old man looked them over curiously and then pointed them in the right direction.
After thanking him, Yunqi and Sicheng walked forward with the child, ignoring his scrutinizing gaze.
The old man thought for a moment, then waved to a child, saying, "Go up the mountain and find Accountant Si, and tell him someone is looking for you." The child responded and ran off.
"Let's go straight to the fields and find them." Si Cheng really didn't want to face that woman again.
Yunqi naturally had no objections and took the child directly towards the terraced fields. Just as he was about to ask a question, he saw Si Zhengwei leading two young men toward them.
You can tell he's Sicheng's father just by looking at him.
"You've arrived." Si Zhengwei, his trouser legs still up and his hands covered in mud, glanced at Si Cheng and Yun Qi, then fixed his gaze on the two children.
"These are your children." Si Zhengwei looked at the twins in front of him with some excitement, feeling his heart almost melt. These were his grandchildren.
"This is my wife Yunqi. These two little ones are twins, a boy and a girl. The older one is a brother named Junjun, and the younger one is a sister named Lele."
"Are you our grandpa?" Lele was very curious about why this person looked so much like her father.
"Yes, I am the grandfather." Si Zhengwei put his hands in his pockets and then realized that both pockets were empty. He really didn't have anything to give to his grandson and granddaughter whom he was meeting for the first time.
"Let's go home and talk." Seeing the curious glances around them, Si Zhengwei called out and they headed home together.
Although he wanted to reach out and hug his grandson or granddaughter, he withdrew his hand when he saw that he was covered in mud.
Si Ming and Si Liang both called out "Big Brother" and "Sister-in-law" in low voices, and then fell silent.
Si Cheng and Yun Qi nodded to each other, but Si Cheng didn't introduce them to Yun Qi. Although the two brothers hadn't done anything wrong when they were young, he still didn't like them.
Upon entering their makeshift wooden house, the cramped and dimly lit space felt oppressive. Huang Yun wasn't home at the time; it was unclear whether he was simply absent or had gone out to hide.
"Sit down. The house is a bit cramped, so please make do." This was the first time Si Zhengwei had appeared so reserved in front of his son. Before, he was the one who was needed, he could be high and mighty, and he could arrange things for him as a matter of course.
But now that he was in this situation, he could no longer muster the same imposing manner as before, and instead felt a sense of caution towards him.
Si Cheng didn't beat around the bush with him. This time, he wasn't there to rekindle their relationship, because Si Cheng was already past the age where he needed a father's love.
"I found some things at home that you might find useful." Si Cheng placed the basket and two bags he had brought in front of him.
Yunqi began taking things out one by one: an iron pot, an iron basin, salt, dried vegetables, cured meat, a medicine packet, a large bag of rice and a large bag of potatoes and sweet potatoes, and some men's clothes.
"These medicine packets contain commonly used medications, and the dosage and usage are clearly marked on them." Yun Qi picked up the medicine packets and pointed to the white paper on them. He then picked out a few smaller medicine packets from among them. "These are for snake repellent. You can carry them with you when you go out, and snakes usually won't come near you."
Si Zhengwei looked at the pile of things on the floor and didn't know what to say. This amounted to more than his family currently owned. "Why did you bring so much stuff? Is your home enough?"
Si Cheng didn't beat around the bush and directly stated the purpose of his visit.
"This time, I mainly brought the children to see you, and also to talk to you about your retirement in the future."
“I’m still so young, I don’t need you to take care of me in my old age.” Si Zhengwei quickly refused. “Besides, we already agreed that Si Ming and Si Liang would take care of me in my old age. I’m already very happy that you came to visit me.”
"Let me finish. I'm not going to take care of you now. I'll take on one-third of your care after you turn 60. But I don't want anyone to disturb our lives." She glanced at Si Ming and Si Liang after she finished speaking.
Si Zhengwei was speechless. He knew that his eldest son harbored resentment towards him, but he didn't realize that his son had drawn such a clear line between them.
Si Ming and Si Liang knew that their elder brother was referring to their mother. The glance he gave them earlier was probably a warning, as evidenced by the clothes they had just taken out; there wasn't a single woman's garment among them.
Yunqi led Junjun and Lele forward, saying, "Junjun, Lele, this is Grandpa, quickly greet him."
Junjun and Lele looked at Si Zhengwei obediently and said, "Hello, Grandpa!"
"Okay, okay," he said, wiping his hands on his body a few times before reaching out to touch the child's head.
"If there's nothing else, we'll head back." Si Cheng really didn't know how to get along with his father, so he decided to keep his distance as before.
"Acheng, thank you!" Si Zhengwei's two "thank yous" contained so much. He was grateful to his eldest son for bringing so many things to see him at this time, and he was grateful that his wife and children hadn't refused to acknowledge him.
Although the couple didn't address her by name from the moment she entered the door, she was already very content that the two children called her that.
Moreover, their visit here is also a way of indirectly telling the people of Xin San Village that regardless of the father-son relationship, blood ties are undeniable. Those in the village with ulterior motives will likely not dare to make things difficult for them.
"Take care of everything, and remember your brother's kindness," Si Zhengwei said to the two children as he watched the family of four walk away.
"Dad, let's make a pot of cured pork rice tonight." Si Liang carried about ten pounds of cured pork in his hand, and looking at the big bag of rice, he couldn't help but feel craving it. Even Si Ming swallowed his saliva when he heard this.
"Put everything away properly first, and don't gossip when you go out. Have your mother steam a pot of white rice later, but don't touch the cured meat yet." It wasn't that Si Zhengwei didn't want to feed the children, but Si Cheng had just come to see them today, and it wouldn't be good if the family made a big show of cooking cured meat rice. Now is not the time to stir up trouble, but to find a way to integrate into this new village.
Hearing that there was no cured meat rice but white rice was fine, heaven knows how long they've been eating wild vegetables; they've almost forgotten the taste of rice.
Si Zhengwei was afraid that his wife would make cured meat when they went to the fields, so he simply sent the two children to the fields and waited at home.
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