The group chatted for a while in the waiting room. Soon after, the train arrived at the station. Ning Zhiheng and Xiao Wan bid a reluctant farewell to Liu Datong and his family and boarded the train home.
Once in the car, Xiao Wan remained silent. Ning Zhiheng tried to coax her into talking, even taking out a prepared plush toy. Finally, Xiao Wan lowered her guard and began chatting and laughing, gradually becoming more familiar with him.
Nanjing and Hangzhou are not far apart, but the trains at that time were too slow. It took a whole day to finally arrive in Hangzhou, after 5 p.m.
After getting off the train with Xiao Wan, they found two rickshaws and headed to the Ning family home.
Hangzhou in late autumn is very beautiful. The leaves on the roadside trees have already turned red, and some leaves have fallen, falling like butterflies dancing in the air.
Occasionally, we would pass a stretch of lake, its surface perfectly calm, with a few small boats gliding by, leaving ripples that still spread across it.
This is where Ning Zhiheng grew up. Stepping onto this land, every breath he takes makes him feel genuinely warm and familiar.
The Ning family's ancestral home is a prominent family in Hangzhou. Their ancestors once served as local officials in Hangzhou, and later their descendants spread throughout the city, becoming a family of scholars for generations.
Later, many members of the family also became wealthy through business. Ning Zhiheng's grandfather was a shrewd businessman who built a fortune. He had three sons and one daughter.
Ning Zhiheng's father, Ning Liangcai, was his third child. Ning Zhiheng had an older uncle, a second older uncle, and an older aunt.
Ning Liangcai, the father, failed to study well as a child and turned to business, opening three cloth shops and a restaurant. He was well-off and lived a comfortable life.
His mother, Sang Su'e, also came from a wealthy family and had two sons, Ning Zhiheng and his elder brother Ning Zhipeng.
Ning Liangcai later married a concubine, who bore him a son and a daughter: Ning Zhiheng's third brother, Ning Zhiming, and his younger sister, Ning Zhen.
Soon, Ning Zhiheng arrived at the gate of a large mansion in the south of Hangzhou. This was the Ning family's residence, with carved eaves and brackets, and upturned eaves. It was considered one of the largest mansions in the south of the city.
After getting off the rickshaw with Xiao Wan, the driver carefully placed the luggage at the door. He took his tip and turned to leave.
There was a gatekeeper on duty at the entrance. Seeing someone come in, he went up and exclaimed, "Oh dear! It's the second young master! It's the second young master!"
"Uncle Shrimp, how are you feeling?" Ning Zhiheng greeted him with a smile.
Uncle Shrimp is an elderly man in the family. He has watched Shrimp grow up since he was a child. Later, as he got older, he was no longer given any work to do. Instead, he lived in the gatehouse every day and watched over the gate.
"He's perfectly healthy, well-fed and warmly dressed, how could he not be well!" Uncle Xia stepped forward, picked up the luggage, and shouted to the others in the yard, "Where has everyone gone? Go tell Madam that the Second Young Master has come home!"
Xiao Wan, standing to the side, was too afraid to speak when she saw strangers. She just held Ning Zhiheng's hand tightly and looked around with her big eyes blinking.
After a few calls, the whole courtyard began to stir. The second young master had been away from home for a long time and was rarely back. Several servants rushed out to greet him warmly, take his luggage, and lead him into the inner courtyard.
Before they even reached the inner courtyard, Sang Su'e, the mother, hurriedly came out. Hearing that her second son was home, she was anxious and decided to greet him herself.
Seeing her son approaching, tall and upright with a dignified demeanor, she was struck by how much taller and more composed he seemed than a year ago.
"Mother, why are you out here!" Ning Zhiheng stepped forward and took his mother's hand, greeting her warmly.
His use of the word "mother" was natural and affectionate. His soul was a fusion of his past and present lives, and his feelings for his relatives were simple, natural, and perfectly natural.
"So you finally know how to come back! You haven't sent a single telegram all year. Don't you know how worried your family is?" Sang Su'e grabbed her son's ear, twisting it lightly but seemingly forcefully. She listened to her son's feigned cry of pain before letting go.
Only then did she notice a pretty little girl beside her son. She immediately laughed and asked, "Whose child did you bring back? She's so adorable!"
After saying that, he went to hug her, but Xiao Wan was so frightened that she hid behind Ning Zhiheng.
“Mother, this child is the one I brought back to find his family. We can talk about it in detail later. I’ve been on the train all day, and I’m hungry. Shouldn’t we eat?”
Upon hearing her son say he was hungry, Sang Su'e cried out in anguish, "Dinner's ready! Dinner's ready! Don't wait for that old man; who knows where he's off gallivanting off to again. Let's eat first!"
Upon hearing the wife's instructions, everyone quickly began to prepare to serve the food.
In this household, the mother, Sang Su'e, was the one in charge. She came from a wealthy family, was the principal wife, and had two eldest sons, so her position was secure. In addition, Ning Liangcai was somewhat afraid of his wife, and after marrying a concubine, he dared not raise his voice.
Everyone in this household knows that when the mistress glares at him, the master is dumbfounded!
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