Hard work after winning the lottery

He took the last drag of his cigarette, then stubbed it out hard on the ground, as if trying to crush all his frustration and anger into the cold earth.

"Old Zhou."

When he spoke, his voice sounded like it had been ground from under a millstone, deep and muffled.

"This...is not your fault."

He paused, his gaze passing over Zhou Yinchuan's shoulder and looking into the deep night.

"If anyone's to blame, it's the young people themselves..."

The words "I don't blame you" brought a sense of relief to Zhou Yinchuan, but what followed was a deeper sense of guilt.

He knew that his old friend was saving him face.

"That kid Yan Jin told me everything."

Zhou Yinchuan hurriedly expressed his stance, fearing that if he was even a second too late, the tiny crack that had just been opened would close again.

His tone was urgent and rapid, like a child who had made a mistake and was eager to explain.

"He's a bastard! He's a piece of trash!"

He started by hurling a vicious curse, showing no mercy.

"But now he knows, and he regrets it! He promised me he would take responsibility for Yun'er and treat the children well!"

Hua Mutou fell silent.

He lowered his head again, looking at the cigarette butt he had crushed on the ground, and remained silent for a long time.

In the courtyard, only the chirping of insects in the summer night remained, one chirp after another, making people feel restless and irritated.

responsible?

That's easy for you to say.

How can he take responsibility for the suffering, pain, and tears his granddaughter endured?

What will be used to take responsibility?

but……

He thought of his three lively great-grandchildren, of them calling him "Great-Grandpa" in their sweet, childlike voices, and of their clear, untainted eyes.

Those small faces that looked so much like Zhou Yanjin constantly reminded him that blood ties could not be severed.

a long time.

A long, drawn-out sigh, almost emptying his lungs, escaped from Hua Mutou's chest.

"I understand that children... need their father."

His voice no longer held the anger it had just displayed; only a deep, unyielding weariness and heartache remained.

"Yun'er...she's suffered so much, what more could we, her elders, possibly want?"

"Isn't it all for her to have a better life in the future, to have someone to rely on, to be... happy?"

"I understand, I understand!"

Hearing this, Zhou Yinchuan felt a pang of sadness and nodded repeatedly, as if he had grasped a lifeline.

"Old Hua, don't worry!"

He took half a step forward and grabbed Hua Mutou's calloused hand, which was ice-cold.

"As long as Yun'er is willing, and as long as you all agree, our Zhou family will definitely welcome her into our family in a grand and glorious manner!"

His voice suddenly rose, carrying a resolute solemnity.

"I swear on my old bones, from this day forward, I will never let her suffer even the slightest injustice again!"

"If anyone dares to wrong her, I, Zhou Yinchuan, will be the first to object!"

Hua Mutou felt the burning heat and slight trembling of his old comrade-in-arms on the back of his hand.

He looked up and saw the other person's sincere and anxious, reddened old eyes. The last bit of resentment in his heart seemed to evaporate in the warmth of that gaze.

He knew that Zhou Yinchuan was telling the truth.

But this matter is not something that can be decided simply by the two old men nodding their heads.

The key lies with the granddaughter, Hua Yun.

The key question is what that young man, Zhou Yanjin, will do in the future.

Was it genuine remorse, or... just a passing whim?

Hua Mutou slowly withdrew his hand.

He stood up from the ground, patted the dust off his trousers, as if he were also shaking off some of the burdens in his heart.

He stood up straight again.

"Children and grandchildren have their own blessings."

He gazed at the waning moon on the horizon, his voice regaining its usual calmness, yet carrying a hint of desolate fatalism.

"It all depends on their own fate."

After saying that, he stopped talking and strode towards his room, which was lit by a dim yellow light.

Zhou Yinchuan stood there, watching his old comrade's back until the wooden door was gently closed.

He knew that tonight's conversation, though not completely resolved the deep-seated rift between the two families.

But at least there's still a chance.

Under the moonlight, Zhou Yinchuan exhaled a long, long breath of stale air.

The moonlight eventually disappeared into the clouds, and Baixi Village fell into a deep sleep that night, filled with two completely different emotions.

Zhou Yinchuan tossed and turned, half overjoyed at finding his great-grandson, and half tormented by guilt towards his deceased friend.

No one in the Hua family could sleep. Anger, grievance, heartache, and confusion clung to everyone's hearts like an impenetrable net.

The following morning, it was enveloped in an invisible film.

The sun was still shining brightly, and the crowing of roosters and barking of dogs were as usual, but the atmosphere at the dinner table was so oppressive that it was hard to breathe.

Li Guifen and Grandma Hua silently put food into the children's bowls, but their eyes kept glancing at Hua Yun, who was eating with her head down, filled with worry.

Hua Shu's face has been as dark as the bottom of a pot since last night, and even his eating movements are filled with a fierce intensity, as if he is chewing not food, but his enemy.

Hua Mutou remained silent, but he smoked much more frequently than usual.

Zhou Yanjin and Zhou Yinchuan sat in the guest seats, silently eating their meals despite the cold reception they received at the table, their food tasteless.

Breakfast ended in a stagnant silence.

As usual, Zhou Yanjin would return to her room, open her laptop, and begin dealing with the mountain of official business piled up at the company.

But today, he didn't.

After Grandma and Huayun put the children on the school bus, they returned home.

Just as Li Guifen was about to clear the dishes, Zhou Yanjin stood up.

His movements were slow, yet carried an undeniable solemnity as he pulled out the chair behind him.

"Grandpa Hua, Uncle Hua, Auntie, Grandma."

His voice wasn't loud, but it reached everyone's ears clearly.

"Please wait a moment, everyone."

"There are some things I want to say formally in front of everyone."

brush!

In an instant, everyone's eyes were focused on him.

There is scrutiny, inquiry, anger, and complex judgment.

Li Guifen's hand, which was clearing the dishes, froze in mid-air.

Hua Shu, who was about to get up and go to the yard to smoke, suddenly stopped in his tracks, his bloodshot eyes fixed on him.

Hua Mutou slowly raised his eyelids, his cloudy yet sharp eyes seeming to pierce through people's hearts.

Hua Yun's heart clenched suddenly at that moment.

She instinctively clenched her hands, which were hanging by her sides, her fingertips icy cold.

What was bound to happen has finally happened.

Zhou Yinchuan watched his grandson's retreating figure without saying a word. He simply put down his teacup silently, his eyes revealing a hint of tension and even more expectation.

The atmosphere in the living room was so heavy it was almost palpable.