Hard work after winning the lottery

He paused deliberately, observing Hua Mutou's expression.

"In all these years, I've never heard her mention it once?"

Sure enough, Hua Mutou's face darkened.

He took a deep drag on his pipe, exhaling a cloud of white smoke, as if trying to expel all the sorrow in his heart.

He sighed and shook his head.

"Don't even mention it."

"That girl keeps her mouth shut."

"When she first came back, her mother asked her about it, but when she did, she wouldn't say anything and just started crying."

"It's heartbreaking to see people crying like this."

"Later, when we pressed her, she would only say that our fate had run its course, and we couldn't get another word out of her."

"Seeing how upset she was, we... didn't dare ask any more questions."

The honest, simple farmer's face was full of helplessness and heartache for his granddaughter.

Has our fate run its course?

Zhou Yinchuan pondered these four words in his mind, his eyes narrowing slightly.

This explanation sounds more like an excuse given to appease family members.

If he were truly a heartless man who abandoned her and her child, Yun'er, with her fiery temperament, would probably have already cursed him out, instead of being so secretive.

There must be something hidden behind this.

On the other side, Zhou Yanjin had just hung up a multinational video conference.

He rubbed his throbbing temples, and as he turned around, he saw his grandfather standing not far away, staring intently at him.

"grandfather."

Zhou Yinchuan grunted in agreement, strolled over, and glanced casually at the three little ones chasing and playing not far away.

"Yan Jin".

"Um?"

"I see you..." Zhou Yinchuan drawled, as if mentioning it casually, "get along quite well with these three children."

Zhou Yanjin's dark eyes flickered slightly, but he remained silent.

Zhou Yinchuan seemed oblivious to his silence and continued speaking.

His cloudy yet still shrewd eyes were fixed on his grandson's face, not missing a single subtle change in expression.

"Si'an, those eyebrows, those noses, they do... resemble you a bit when you were little."

This sentence, like a pebble thrown into a calm lake, instantly stirred up invisible ripples.

Zhou Yanjin's hand holding the teacup swayed almost imperceptibly.

The tea in the cup rippled with a fine, subtle wave.

Zhou Yinchuan accurately captured this subtle movement.

Zhou Yanjin looked up and met her grandfather's probing gaze. Her Adam's apple bobbed slightly, but in the end, only a single syllable escaped her throat.

"Um."

Neither admitted nor denied it.

He didn't even respond.

This deliberate, watertight avoidance, in this context, is itself a form of tacit agreement.

Zhou Yinchuan's heart sank.

enough.

He understood everything.

He recalled the shock and disarray on Hua Yun's face when her grandson appeared at the gate of the small courtyard.

He recalled Hua Yun's deliberate, venomous avoidance of his grandson.

Connecting this to the grandson's unusual behavior, the Hua family's evasive words, and that little face that so closely resembled the grandson as a child...

A bold, almost absurd, yet perfectly reasonable idea exploded like a thunderclap in his weathered mind!

These three children...

These three little ones were someone he genuinely liked and felt an instant connection with upon seeing them...

Most likely...

That's Zhou Yinchuan's...great-grandson!

They are the Zhou family's bloodline that had been lost and scattered!

This realization was like a category 12 tsunami, instantly sweeping over his heart, which had been calm for many years, and stirring up a stormy sea.

His breath caught in his throat for a moment.

His heart pounded wildly in his aged chest, almost leaping out of his throat.

Ecstasy, shock, anger, heartache...

Countless emotions, like a spilled bottle of mixed flavors, churned in his heart, causing his hand holding the teacup to tremble slightly.

He wanted to rush over immediately, grab his grandson by the collar, and loudly demand to know what was going on!

But he couldn't.

Zhou Yinchuan closed his eyes, forcibly suppressing the overwhelming excitement that was about to burst forth.

He spent his life on the battlefield and saw all sorts of storms and waves.

It is precisely in times like these that we must remain calm.

Judging from the grandson's cryptic attitude and Yun's frightened appearance, what happened back then was definitely not simple.

Breaking through this barrier rashly will not only fail to solve the problem, but may also push that girl and the children further away.

The old fox's lips curled into a meaningful smile.

Since neither of you young people are taking the initiative, this old man won't mind giving you a push.

He cleared his throat and spoke with a strong voice.

"Hey, the weather's nice today!"

"Old Hua, Yan Jin, we're just killing time anyway, why don't we go to the west end of the village and see how Yun's sheep farm is doing?"

"Perfect timing, let the kids go outside and run around, get some fresh air!"

He wants to go and see for himself.

He wanted to create more opportunities for these two people and the three children to stay together.

He wanted to use his own eyes to see everything clearly and thoroughly!

Zhou Yinchuan enthusiastically pulled his old comrade-in-arms along, Zhou Yanjin expressionlessly picked up the car keys, while the three clueless little ones cheered with joy at the prospect of going out to play.

From that day on, Zhou Yinchuan seemed to have unlocked his full potential, transforming into the strongest and most troublesome matchmaker in history.

With an unquestionable, elder-like concern, he began to spare no effort in creating various opportunities for Zhou Yanjin and Hua Yun to be alone together.

At first, it was done in the name of the children.

"Yun girl, I heard from the villagers that the wild strawberries on the back hill are ripe and as red as jewels."

The old man fanned himself with a palm leaf fan, squinted, and looked longingly at the spot.

"You and Yan Jin are two young people, and you're quite agile. Go pick some for the children to try and get some vitamins."

Hua Yun was about to say that she could go alone.

Zhou Yinchuan had already blocked all her avenues of conversation.

"That mountain path is difficult to walk on. You're a young lady, what if you twist your ankle? Yan Jin, you come with me, it'll be a good opportunity to stretch your muscles."

Zhou Yanjin put down the financial newspaper in his hand, his dark eyes calm, his thin lips slightly parted, and he uttered only one word.

"it is good."

Thus, a strange scene appeared on the winding path leading to the back mountain.

Hua Yun, carrying a small bamboo basket on her back, walked briskly ahead without looking back, the pebbles under her feet making a "crunch" sound, as if venting a silent protest.

Zhou Yanjin followed her at a leisurely pace, about three steps behind.

He didn't speak or urge him.

He simply used his unfathomable eyes to silently and intently trace her tense, wary back.

The mountain breeze blew by, ruffling her hair and stirring his heart, which had been dormant for many years.

Several times, Hua Yun stumbled and almost fell because she was walking too fast.

The steady aura behind her would instantly close in, and a large hand would almost touch her arm.

But she always manages to regain her balance at the last moment, with an indomitable stubbornness, and then walk even faster.

The hand that was suspended in mid-air could only be silently withdrawn time and time again.

The air was filled with the scent of grass and a suffocating silence.