"Have you decided whether to hold the wedding in Z City or S City?" Han Yiâs question made Lin Yinghui give a helpless smile. "Iâm actually troubled by this now. All our friends are in S City, but we donât really have friends in Z City. But Mom and Dad are here, and if we visit this time, as long as Grandpa and Grandma are agreeable... theyâre definitely not going to agree to us having the wedding in S City."
Han Yi nodded.
"When we get there, letâs discuss this with Mom and Dad. Theyâve said they want to take us back to the hometown this year." This time, theyâd be returning home in glory as a whole family.
Going back is about dazzling those people and showing those who used to look down on them that theyâve finally had their day.
"Iâve already talked about this with Qingqing. Sheâs got time off during the New Year, so make sure Ai Yi doesnât have any tasks to attend to then."
Han Yi gave a helpless smile, "Iâll do my best to avoid them."
"Please, no more tasks for now. Youâve just suffered such a serious injury, you need a period of rest." Speaking about tasks, Lin Wan was a bit traumatized. She always felt that whenever Han Yi was on a task, heâd end up lying in front of her, covered in blood.
"As part of the army, one must obey orders and follow the organization. How can one just refuse to go by losing face."
Lin Wan always felt helpless each time.
Meanwhile, Little Star, sitting in Han Yiâs arms, was happily babbling, pulling at Han Yiâs shirt buttons. No one knew what she was so excited about.
On the way there, Lin Wan had prepared a roasted chicken, which they ate during the first meal on the train.
They couldnât store other things, so they just brought that chicken. Little Star drank only powdered milk throughout the journey, with occasional spoonfuls of thin porridge.
Traveling with children in those days was not easy, with all the diaper changing and bathroom trips. Han Yi and Lin Wan made frequent trips to the restroom. Luckily, their seats were close to the bathroom, avoiding the hassle of navigating through crowds.
Thankfully, by the afternoon of the third day, around four oâclock, they reached their destination, and Dad had sent a car to pick them up, taking them directly to their new residence in the compound.
Liang Hongmei was already at home waiting for them.
As soon as they got out of the car, she hurriedly took Little Star from Lin Wanâs arms and gave her two kisses.
"My darling granddaughter, Grandma missed you so much. Did you miss Grandma?"
"Da-da." Little Star was excited, hugging Liang Hongmeiâs neck, drooling and babbling nonstop.
Momâs place was really nice, a two-story house with a yard, similar to her godmotherâs home.
Inside, there were heavy Chinese-style furniture, and Mom had organized everything well. The living room not only had a telephone but also a radio and a television, and sheâd even bought a refrigerator.
"Mom, where did you buy the refrigerator?" Lin Wanâs eyes were immediately drawn to the Haier refrigerator as soon as she walked in; it wasnât big, but already rare to see in markets.
"I knew youâd like it. Iâll have your Dad get two more when we go back, okay? This one was bought because your Grandma asked someone to get it for us."
"Hmm... seems Grandma treats Mom pretty well, doesnât she?" Lin Wan asked curiously.
"Itâs not bad. A few days ago, your Dad took me back to the Lin Familyâs old residence, and everyone there was quite kind."
"Thatâs good." Both siblings felt a lot more relieved.
They were afraid the elder in the family would look down on grandchildren from the countryside.
Just look at the Mei Family to understand that. When Lin Yinghui and I went that time, they didnât act all that enthusiastic. But then again, itâs just because theyâre adopted godchildren, which is different from real grandchildren.
In contrast, Han Yi, as Mei Shuping said, the Mei familyâs old man knew Han Yiâs identity, but didnât show much enthusiasm for a long time.
"You all go to your rooms and take a bath quickly, after two days on the train covered in sweat. Iâve prepared everything for you, clothes are in the room, all upstairs. The innermost room is Ah Huiâs, the room near the stairs is for both of you, Xiao Wan."
Liang Hongmei was holding Little Star in the bathroom on the first floor, ready to give her a bath.
Upon hearing this, Lin Wan pulled Han Yi along upstairs.
If she wasnât married yet, this would have been her room.
The spaces upstairs and downstairs were similar, with three bedrooms, a bathroom, and a large balcony. Enough for Mom to grow flowers and plants, she could plant quite a few in the yard below. Of the two bedrooms downstairs, one had been converted into Dadâs study.
As for her room, it was coincidental but Mom made this nice national-style bed, very much like the one in her godmotherâs house. In this house, all the bedrooms had beds, no kang as in S City. It seemed the winters here werenât as cold as S Cityâs.
Lin Yinghui walked over to Lin Wanâs room, took a glance inside, "You wash first, Iâll go check out my own room."
After Lin Yinghui spoke, Lin Wan followed him. Surprisingly, when she entered her brotherâs room, it was much larger than the one for her and Han Yi, and the interior was decorated with wedding items, with even the sheets and bedspreads having big red festive patterns.
Lin Wan was a bit jealous as she spoke to Han Yi behind her, "Ai Yi, how come I feel Mom spoils him too much, the treatment is so different."
Han Yi chuckled as he ruffled her hair, "Thatâs what happens when you get married."
Lin Yinghui smirked, "When you all got married back then, didnât you have big red festive quilts too? What is there to envy, itâs not easy for your brother to get married."
"Hmm, hmm, itâs not easy, not easy at all, does the Saozi know youâre in Z City, brother?"
Lin Yinghui blushed, scratching his head awkwardly, "I plan to surprise her."
Seeing her brother acting this way, Lin Wan rolled her eyes and turned around with Han Yi to their own room, taking the clothes prepared by Mom, she went to take a bath.
Just as Lin Wan entered the bathroom, Han Yi followed her in.
"What are you doing?"
"Taking a bath together," Han Yi didnât hesitate, placing his clothes down and directly started undressing in front of Lin Wan.
Lin Wan blushed, feeling hot as she warned him, "Weâre in Mom and Dadâs house, itâd be so awkward if they saw us."
"Thereâs nothing wrong with it, Iâm just a son-in-law taking a bath in the house, weâre not doing anything improper, if they saw, theyâd be pleased. Do you want me to scrub your back?"
"No!" Lin Wan said bashfully, distancing herself from him.
...
"Mom, how are the neighbors here, is everything fine in terms of living?"
"Everythingâs fine. A few days ago, I even saw your godmother and godfather. They happened to be in the area on a business trip, and spent a couple of days here. The furniture at home, you know, was all picked by your godmother and me."
"No wonder," Thatâs why the two beds looked so alike, "Has my godmother left?"
"Yes, she left yesterday. She wanted to wait for you all to arrive, Ah Hui had some trouble, they were worried and wanted to see you all. But your godfatherâs schedule was tight, couldnât wait."
"No worries, my godfatherâs in the team, heâll definitely come here again. Itâs good that godmother spends her free time with him. Mom, since weâre married now, while my brother doesnât have kids, you should feel free to go with Dad, like godmother, travel around domestically and maybe one day explore abroad too."
"Going occasionally is fine, but too long gets boring. Your godmother said she mainly follows your godfather around because sheâs bored and has nothing to do. But your Dad doesnât travel often, and Iâm thinking of finding a place here to open a shop again."
"Mom, opening a shop is a good idea, letâs find a place first. Ideally, try to buy some land or buy a property and we can build a hot pot restaurant ourselves."
"I havenât checked the property prices here, Iâll enquire when I have time."
"Yes, the money we earned over the years should be enough to buy land and build a house. By the way, does Dad have any views?"
"Your Dad wholeheartedly agrees. He says the economy here is open now, with private ownership becoming the norm. Encourages us to work hard, itâs how people outside are doing it."
Lin Wan smiled and nodded, it seemed Dad learned quite a lot over the years. When Dad returned home, it was almost 7 PM. By then Lin Wan and Mom had already prepared a large table full of dishes.
"Sorry for the delay, you must have waited a long time. Come, Little Star, let Grandpa hold you." As soon as Lin Guozhi entered, he looked for Little Star.
But Liang Hongmei gave him a light slap, "The child is asleep, keep your voice down."
"How come sheâs sleeping now?"
"Dad, Little Star was too excited to sleep much on the way. Once we got back, we bathed and fed her, and she just fell asleep." Lin Wan explained.
"Letâs eat quickly, your son and son-in-law are waiting for you." Liang Hongmei reminded Lin Guozhi, urging everyone to gather at the dining table.
"Is work going smoothly?" Lin Guozhi asked his son from the main seat.
"All is well."
"Good. Your Grandpa and I are thinking to transfer you here, any objections?"
"Iâm okay with it; being with you allâd be better. A transfer here works too." Lin Yinghui also wanted the transfer since his wife would have to retire, while the service still had a year. He didnât want to end up in a long-distance marriage.