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When Xu Li saw Uncle Andong and Aunt Xie Liao Na again, his eyes were slightly moist. After all, in this unfamiliar city, they had given him the warmth of home.
Aunt Xie Liao Na gently touched the scar on his face, wiping away her tears, but soon she was joyfully hugging the two chubby Little Guys, her face beaming with happiness.
Lev had his right hand in a splint, suspended by a strap across his chest. With his left hand, he held a wine glass, toasting with Father-in-law and Andrei as they engaged in a drinking game. Xu Li, however, was driving and didn’t drink, especially since his wife and children were in the car with him.
"Is Uncle still working at that restaurant?" Xu Li asked.
Old Anton nodded. "Yes, I've been there for over ten years. The boss treats me well, and the pay is decent. If I work for another three years, I can retire."
"Why? Do you want to help your uncle open a restaurant?" Old Anton teased. Xu Li nodded earnestly. "Yes, when I came here, I really thought about helping you open a restaurant. Now that I have some money..."
"Even if you have money, you should keep it for yourself. As the kids grow older, expenses will pile up everywhere. It's not easy to make money these days. Your good intentions are appreciated, but you don’t need to worry about finances; your aunt and I are not short on cash."
Old Anton chuckled as he raised his glass to toast with Andrei. Lev glanced over at Pasta, considering asking if he wanted to invest in his phone shop when someone kicked his calf.
Looking up, he saw Father-in-law glaring at him and quickly forced a smile, tilting his head back to down his vodka in one go.
Despite Old Anton’s repeated refusals, he and Xu Li still left two large Red Envelopes for his granddaughter Xiao Lisa and the soon-to-arrive baby. The next morning, they bid farewell to Ivan and Yuliya’s family and set off back to Hongqi Village.
“Mom! I brought your daughter-in-law and two big chubby grandsons to see you!”
On the morning of the Qingming Festival, Xu Li held a bouquet along with some paper money in his hands. Beside him were Anna, dressed in a trendy coat and pants, and Eva holding their respective children.
The sisters placed the children on the ground to adjust their little hats while Xu Li carefully wiped Qi Qin's tombstone and the surrounding area clean. After pulling out some weeds, he arranged the offerings he had brought one by one.
After lighting incense and burning the paper money, he respectfully bowed to Qi Qin. Then it was Anna's and Eva's turn, followed by the two Little Ones. Xu Li pointed at Xu Weihua and Xu Weixia's chubby faces: "Call her grandma!"
"Grandma!"
"Hello Grandma!"
The two little ones called out in their sweet voices. For some reason, Xu Li felt a lump in his throat; he smiled through tears: "Louder! Otherwise your grandma won’t hear you!"
"Grandma!"
"Hello Grandma!"
Little Guy cupped his chubby hands around his mouth like a trumpet and shouted with all his might while Xu Li stood by wiping away tears. Anna and Eva watched from the side, puzzled by the situation; it was quite a challenge for them to comprehend what was happening!
“Mom, are you happy?”
He knelt before the tombstone, raising his hand to gently touch the face in Qi Qin's black-and-white photograph. He pursed his lips and said, "Next year, I will bring your daughter-in-law and grandchildren to see you." After bowing again, he stood up and ruffled the heads of the two chubby little boys. "Say goodbye to Grandma."
Xu Weihua waved his small chubby hand. "Goodbye, Grandma."
Xu Weixia tilted her head, looking at the photograph with a big grin as she waved. "Goodbye, Grandma!"
The little toddler, barely over a year old, understood nothing at all; he simply did whatever his father told him to do. As their father held them both, the little guys curiously looked around. There were so many grandmas here, along with uncles and aunts, and even older brothers and sisters!
After spending more than a month in Jinling with his wife and children, he reluctantly boarded the return flight. During this trip to Jinling, he had bought many wonderful things, mostly cold-resistant fruit and vegetable seeds released by the Agricultural Science Institute in recent years. He also spent a considerable amount on two sets of smart greenhouses that had just been launched last year, along with some specialized soil for growing watermelons and cantaloupes, planning to see if he could cultivate them back home.
In the vegetable field, all the villagers—young and old—stood smoking in front of the two newly built greenhouses. The greenhouses Xu Li had purchased were three meters high, eight meters wide, and fifty meters long. In one of them, the black soil had been dug down by one meter.
After special treatment, it was filled with sand soil that Yuri had helped bring over. This type of soil was mixed with other materials and was said to be capable of growing watermelons and cantaloupes in colder environments, although they had never tried it before.
"Hey Makarov," someone called out from the large house. "Do you think this will work?"
Yurian exhaled a puff of smoke while looking at Xu Li and shrugged. "I say, Uncle, we’ll know after a summer."
"Hey hey hey! How much did you spend?" Pushkin pulled Xu Li aside to ask. His eldest son Valery also brought his kids over to listen in.
Xu Li counted on his fingers for a moment. "The two greenhouses cost ten thousand—mainly because the smart detection instruments inside are too expensive. Seeds, fertilizers, and soil add up to several hundred thousand. With tariffs and various other fees, it’s about twenty thousand or so—I'm talking about Chinese currency, not rubles."
"That’s a lot of money!" Pushkin's family looked at the two greenhouses with newfound respect. Valery smacked his lips. "If it doesn’t work out—"
"Hey! Don’t jinx it! I just planted those seeds; don’t curse me!" Xu Li interrupted him grumpily as he led the villagers who had come to help into the yard. Natasha and Aunt Janna had already set up the dining table; everyone who could come from the village was there.
Aside from those from Lao Yi's generation, only Andreev's family remained, along with Peter's family whom Xu Li had persuaded to move over. However, their children mostly lived in the city for school and there were still some days until summer vacation.
"Eat this! Eat this!"
Xu Weixia was placed on her mother's ample lap. Dressed in open-crotch pants, she kicked her legs excitedly while reaching for the grilled steak on Qi Qin's plate with her small chubby hands. Her big eyes sparkled with desire for the meat.
"Call me Brother, and I'll get it for you."
The youngest son of the Andreev family, Zhukov, was just two years older than Xu Weihua. His mischievous nature was evident as he grabbed the large steak that Xu Weixia wanted to eat, grinning widely at Little Guy. "Hurry up and call me Brother!"
"No!"
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