Hard work after winning the lottery

Wednesday.

For many office workers, this is the most difficult hurdle to overcome, with no village or shop in sight and two days left until the weekend.

But for Grandpa Zhou Yinchuan, it felt like an eternity.

Although they had only been separated for three days, he felt as if a century had passed between him and his three great-grandchildren. No matter how much food he fed the koi in the old house, they would never call him "Great-Grandpa" in their babyish voices; the study with its walls covered in military medals was now devoid of adoring little eyes and looked desolate no matter how you looked at it.

"Prepare the car."

Having just woken from his afternoon nap, Zhou Yinchuan slammed his cane on the ground and shouted in a strong voice.

Butler Li paused for a moment, then looked at the sky outside: "Old Master, where are you going in the middle of the afternoon? Didn't you have a chess game with Old Master Lin tonight?"

"What's the point of playing chess! That old man has terrible sportsmanship, I'm not playing anymore!" Zhou Yinchuan straightened his Tang suit, his eyes darting around. "Let's go to Jingyuan."

Old Li suddenly realized, suppressing a laugh: "But the young master and young mistress said they would only come on the weekend..."

"I'm just going to take a look!" Zhou Yinchuan's eyebrows shot up, his mustache almost bristling. "That's my house. I'm going to see if that French style has corrupted my great-grandson, is that not allowed? Hurry up, stop dawdling!"

……

Jingyuan Villa, 4:30 PM.

A tomato and beef brisket soup was simmering in the kitchen, its aroma drifting into the living room through the crack in the door.

Hua Yun, wearing a light pink apron, was placing a plate of sliced ​​fruit on the coffee table. The three little ones had just come home from school, their schoolbags scattered on the floor, and were sprawled on the carpet, each busy with their own tasks.

"Mommy, I want to eat that red meat!" Sile, with her keen nose, drooled as she played with her Peppa Pig doll.

"We'll have dinner later, let's have some fruit first." Hua Yun had just put a piece of apple into Sile's mouth when the doorbell suddenly rang.

"Ding-dong—Ding-dong—"

The pace was rapid, revealing the urgency of the person who had come.

Hua Yun glanced at the clock on the wall, puzzled.

At this hour, Zhou Yanjin is still in a meeting. Packages are usually left at the door in a Fengchao locker. Who could it be?

She wiped her hands, walked to the entrance, and glanced through the video doorbell.

Upon closer inspection, I was startled.

On the screen, Grandpa Zhou Yinchuan was pacing back and forth at the gate with his hands behind his back, like a great general inspecting his position. Every now and then, he would poke the money tree at the gate with his cane and mutter to himself.

"grandfather?!"

Hua Yun quickly opened the door, her face showing both surprise and delight.

[At this point, I hope readers will remember our domain name 12199.99]

As soon as the door opened, Zhou Yinchuan's serious "inspection" expression was shattered by Hua Yun's enthusiastic greeting.

"Grandpa! What brings you here? Please come in! Why didn't you call ahead so I could have picked you up?"

Hua Yun quickly stepped aside and reached out to help the old man.

"Hmph, I have my own legs, why would I need someone to help me?" Zhou Yinchuan snorted arrogantly, but his body betrayed him as he followed Hua Yun's help into the house. "I was just passing by and thought I'd take a look at the feng shui of this house."

No sooner had the words left his mouth than three deafening screams echoed through the living room.

"Great-Grandpa!!!"

The three little dumplings that were originally lying on the carpet suddenly sprang up as if they had springs in them.

Si Tao ran the fastest, rushing over like a small cannonball, grabbing Zhou Yinchuan's leg and rubbing her face against the old man's trouser leg: "Great-Grandpa! I missed you so much!"

Not to be outdone, Sile rushed over, clutching her Peppa Pig toy, and squeezed to the other side: "Great-Grandpa, I missed you too! Did you miss Sile?"

Even the usually calm and aloof Si'an briskly walked over with her short legs, tilted her head back, and called out with bright eyes, "Hello, Great-Grandpa."

Zhou Yinchuan, who had just been looking serious and about to "inspect the feng shui," instantly broke down.

His usually stern face was now beaming like a blooming chrysanthemum, his wrinkles radiating kindness.

He tossed his cane aside, squatted down, put his left arm around Sitao, hugged Sile with his right, and made room for Si'an to come closer.

"Oh my! My sweetheart! My precious darling!"

Zhou Yinchuan kissed Sitao on the cheek, then pinched Sile's little face. "I missed you! Great-Grandpa has been dreaming about you! I couldn't resist anymore, so I came to see you!"

"Great-Grandpa, look! This is the castle I built!" Si Tao pulled the old man's hand and tried to lead him inside.

"Great-Grandpa, Mom's beef smells so good! Do you want to stay for dinner?" Sile asked eagerly.

"Eat! You absolutely have to eat!" Zhou Yinchuan waved his hand grandly, exuding an air of magnanimity. "Great-grandfather is here today to freeload!"

Hua Yun felt a warm glow in her heart as she watched the four generations of the family enjoying each other's company. She quietly took out her phone and sent Zhou Yanjin a WeChat message: "[Come home quickly, there's a huge surprise waiting for you at home.]"

Zhou Yinchuan was surrounded by three children as he entered the living room.

Although he said he was there to see his great-grandson, he still subtly glanced around the room.

It doesn't have that cold, minimalist style, nor is it that nouveau riche, opulent extravagance.

A few brightly colored cushions were casually tossed on the off-white sofa, the coffee table was covered with unfinished fruit and picture books from the children, and the storage basket in the corner was piled high with Lego bricks.

The French windows were open, the lawn in the yard was neatly trimmed, and the huge slide glittered in the sunlight. The aroma of food wafted from the kitchen, mixed with the faint scent of laundry detergent.

This is home.

This is a home with life and warmth.

"Hmm, not bad." The old man nodded, seemingly casually commenting, "It's better than that lifeless old house; it looks like a place where people live."

This sentence is the greatest affirmation of Huayun.

Hua Yun brewed the old man a cup of freshly arrived pre-Qingming Longjing tea and said with a smile, "Grandpa, why don't you play with the children for a while? I'll go ask the chef to add two more dishes. I just happened to have bought the ingredients for your favorite braised lion's head meatballs today."

"Go ahead, go ahead, don't worry about me."

Zhou Yinchuan waved his hand, no longer caring about status, and directly took off his expensive handmade custom-made coat, then plopped down on the thick wool carpet in the living room.

The former head of the prestigious Zhou Group was sitting cross-legged, holding a red Lego brick, listening intently to Si Tao's instructions.

"Great-Grandpa, this should be placed on top! This is a cannon!" Si Tao gestured excitedly.

"Great, great, great, cannon!" Zhou Yinchuan chuckled as he assembled the blocks. "Back in the day, when my great-grandfather was fighting, his cannons were way bigger than this..."

"Great-Grandpa, can you sing English songs?" Sile leaned closer, holding a plastic microphone. "I learned a new song at kindergarten, can I sing it for you?"

"Great! Although Great-Grandpa doesn't understand foreign languages, Great-Grandpa understands music!" Zhou Yinchuan pretended to be all ears.

"Twinkle, twinkle, little star..." Si Le sang in her childish voice. Although some of her pronunciations were not perfect, to Zhou Yinchuan, it was heavenly music.

"Great! Well sung!" After the song ended, Zhou Yinchuan clapped until his hands were red. "Much better than those singers on TV! Grandpa will buy you a golden guitar later!"

Beside her, Si'an was writing Chinese characters while lying on a small table.

He wrote slowly, stroke by stroke, neat and tidy.

Looking at his three great-grandchildren, who had very different personalities but were equally adorable, Zhou Yinchuan felt as if the huge hole in his heart had been completely filled, and even the old problem of knee pain from the rainy day a couple of days ago seemed to have been cured.