Hard work after winning the lottery

Two whole weeks.

These past two weeks have been peaceful and uneventful for Baixi Village.

But for the Zhou family's old residence in City A, the preparations were comparable to those for a group's IPO.

Finally, on a clear and sunny late autumn day...

Four black, top-of-the-line SUVs, like silent behemoths, rolled over the rural cement road and slowly drove into Baixi Village.

Under the big locust tree at the village entrance, the elderly people who were seeking shade stood up as if by prior arrangement.

The man carrying a hoe on the edge of the field stopped and stared intently in this direction.

Aunt Li's grandson, Dundun, clung to the door frame of his house, his eyes wide open like copper bells.

"My goodness, what kind of car is this? It's even better than the one Secretary Zhang rides in when he goes to meetings in town!"

"What else could they be but in-laws from the city!"

"Look at that car, it's packed full! It's like they moved the entire department store here!"

"Our Yun'er is going to be a wealthy wife!"

Envy, jealousy, blessings... a variety of complex emotions fermented among the villagers.

But more than anything, it's a sense of pride and honor.

This is the golden phoenix that flew out of their Baixi Village.

At this moment, the Hua family courtyard already presents a completely different scene.

The bluestone pavement was washed so clean it reflected people's images, the windows were wiped spotless, and even the few half-withered spider plants in the corner of the yard had been replaced with newly picked wild chrysanthemums.

Inside the main room, the eight-immortal table was wiped three times and set with freshly brewed wild mountain tea and homemade roasted melon seeds and peanuts.

Inside the kitchen, the atmosphere was bustling with activity, and the aroma of stewed meat could be smelled from several houses away.

Grandpa Hua put on his treasured Zhongshan suit, put his hands behind his back, and paced back and forth in the yard, glancing towards the village entrance every few seconds.

Grandma also put on her new clothes and waited patiently.

Hua Shu and Li Guifen were so nervous that they didn't know what to do with their hands and feet. They kept adjusting their clothes and checking the cooking temperature in the kitchen.

Only Hua Yun, dressed in a clean light blue dress, stood quietly under the grape trellis at the entrance of the courtyard.

She appeared calm, but her hands, tightly gripping the hem of her clothes with slightly white knuckles, betrayed her inner turmoil.

The roar of the engine grew louder as it approached.

Finally, under the watchful eyes of countless people, the four black SUVs came to a steady stop outside the Hua family's courtyard.

The car door opened.

A tall, upright figure stepped forward first.

A black, handmade suit hugged his broad shoulders and lean waist. His outrageously handsome face had lost the coldness and aloofness he displayed in City A, replaced by the gentleness and eagerness of a bird returning home.

Zhou Yanjin.

The moment he stepped out of the car, his gaze swept over everyone, through the noisy air, and landed precisely on the figure standing under the grape trellis.

Hua Yun was also looking at him.

Eyes facing each other.

Time seemed to stand still at that moment.

His eyes held a longing that transcended mountains and seas, and a sense of peace as the dust was about to settle.

Her eyes held the trepidation of waiting two weeks, and the quiet relief that blossomed when she finally saw him.

A thousand words were condensed into this silent exchange.

"dad!"

"Dad, you're back!"

"dad!"

Three clear, joyful children's voices, like three sharp arrows, instantly pierced the momentary tranquility.

Si'an, Si'le, and Si'tao, three little ones wearing matching overalls, rushed out of the house like three baby swallows leaving their nest, cheering.

They bypassed the stunned adults and, with a clear objective, pounced straight at Zhou Yanjin.

The tenderness on Zhou Yanjin's face instantly materialized, and he knelt down on one knee without hesitation, opening his arms wide.

The movements were fluid and natural, as if they had been done hundreds or thousands of times.

"Bang! Bang! Bang!"

Three tiny bodies, like three small cannonballs, crashed solidly into his arms.

He staggered backward from the impact, but steadily wrapped his arms around the most precious treasure in the world.

He buried his face in the children's soft hair, took a deep breath, and that familiar scent, carrying the aroma of milk and sunshine, instantly filled all the emptiness of the past two weeks.

The sense of satisfaction in my heart almost overflowed from my chest.

"Old Hua!"

A loud, clear shout interrupted this heartwarming scene.

Zhou Yinchuan, leaning on his familiar cane, stepped out of the second car with a sprightly air, followed by Zhou Ye and Lin Yi, who also looked travel-worn.

He laughed loudly and reached out his hand to Hua Mutou at the gate of the courtyard.

"I've brought my good-for-nothing son and daughter-in-law with me!"

Hua Mutou also greeted them with a loud laugh, and the two old comrades clasped hands tightly together.

"This is my son, Zhou Ye." Zhou Yinchuan pointed to the man beside him.

Zhou Ye immediately stepped forward, bowed slightly, and grasped Hua Mutou's hands with both of his, his attitude humble and without a trace of the chairman's airs.

"Uncle Hua, hello, my dad has mentioned you before."

He then turned to Hua Shu, who was standing to the side, and extended his hand with the same enthusiasm: "Hello, in-law, I am Zhou Ye."

Hua Shu nervously wiped the sweat from his palms on his pants before awkwardly shaking hands, saying, "Hello, hello."

"This is my wife, Lin Yi," Zhou Ye introduced to everyone.

Lin Yi's gaze, however, was already firmly drawn to the three little ones who were clinging tightly to Zhou Yanjin and wouldn't let go.

Her eyes instantly welled up with tears when she saw those three lively little faces.

That wasn't a photo, that wasn't a video, that was her grandson, a living, breathing grandson!

Upon hearing her husband's introduction, she seemed to wake from a dream and quickly stepped forward, bowing deeply to Grandma Hua and Mr. and Mrs. Hua.

"Grandpa, Grandma, and Mother-in-law, I'm Lin Yi. I'm sorry to have troubled you."

This bow contained not a trace of arrogance befitting a wealthy socialite, but only overflowing sincerity and apology.

The Hua family was immediately at a loss.

"Oh dear, this won't do! Get up, get up!" Grandma Hua and Li Guifen rushed forward to help her up.

"These must be Si'an, Si'le, and Si'tao, right?"

Lin Yi straightened up, but her gaze could no longer leave the children, and her voice trembled slightly with excitement.

"Oh my goodness...she's even cuter and more energetic than in the photos!"

She couldn't help but slowly squat down, carefully examining the piece as if it were the most precious porcelain.

She raised her hand, as if wanting to touch it, but then hesitated, as if feeling a sense of trepidation, and stopped in mid-air.

At this moment, Hua Yun walked over.

She stood beside Zhou Yanjin, watching him still holding the children tightly, a helpless yet sweet smile playing on her lips.

Then, she turned to Zhou Ye and Lin Yi and gave them a graceful bow.

"Uncle, Aunt, hello, you must be tired from your journey."

The crisp sound snapped Lin Yi back to her senses.

She looked up and began to really examine the girl in front of her.

She was thinner than in the photos, but the determination in her eyes and brows was even more captivating.

His skin wasn't snow-white, but a healthy wheat color from working in the sun all the time. But his eyes were as clear as the lake water in Baixi Village, so clean that they were free of any impurities.

This is a story of a single person who supported three children for five years.

This is the Zhou family, who have wronged their daughter-in-law for five whole years!

Lin Yi suddenly stood up and grabbed Hua Yun's hand.

The well-maintained hand, adorned with a large diamond ring, tightly gripped the other hand, whose fingertips were calloused from years of hard work.

"Good boy..."

Lin Yi looked her up and down, her eyes filled with a mixture of admiration, affection, heartache, and guilt.

"What a good child!"

She choked up, repeating the same sentence over and over again.

"You've worked so hard... so incredibly hard... to teach the children so well!"

This expression of gratitude comes from the bottom of my heart.

There were no empty formalities, only the most sincere gratitude and respect.

As Hua Yun held her hand, the softest part of her heart seemed to be touched.

She couldn't utter a single polite remark she had prepared; she could only shake her head slightly, her eyes reddening.

"It's not hard work."

The two families chatted warmly in the courtyard.

Until Zhou Yinchuan tapped the ground with his cane.

"Alright, alright! Stop standing at the door! What you need to say, come inside and talk!"

"Yes, yes, please come in, please come in!" Hua Shu finally realized what was happening and hurriedly greeted them.

The bodyguards began unloading things from the car, box after box, piled up like a small mountain, all of which were gifts carefully prepared by the Zhou family.

The crowd ushered them into the main room.

The originally spacious living room suddenly became bustling with activity due to the increased number of people and the piles of gifts.

The joy of a long-awaited reunion, the excitement of a first meeting, the celebration of an upcoming marriage…