Hard work after winning the lottery

In Baixi Village, a thousand miles away, the same bustling activity was taking place.

Upon learning that his old comrade-in-arms had confirmed his travel plans, Hua Mutou's face was beaming with smiles for several days straight.

He and his son Huashu cleaned the house inside and out, leaving no corner spotless.

He wiped the decades-old wooden furniture again and again with a damp cloth, giving it a warm, lustrous sheen.

Li Guifen then took all the bedding from the room prepared for the distinguished guests and put it out in the sun to dry.

When it was brought back in the evening, the bedding was fluffy and soft, with a comforting scent of sunshine and soapberry.

Hua Yun, who was taking stock of feed at the sheep farm, also received a call from home.

"Daughter, Grandpa Zhou will be arriving next Tuesday, so you'd better get ready!" It was her father Hua Shu's honest voice on the phone.

"Don't worry, Dad!"

Hua Yun readily agreed as she sketched on the ledger with her pen.

"Dad, please tell Uncle to save me the fattest, most tender lamb. I want to roast it for Grandpa Zhou myself!"

"Also, ask the villagers to help me pick more wild mushrooms and tender bamboo shoots from the mountain. I want to make the most authentic mountain delicacies feast!"

Her voice was clear and crisp, exuding an undeniable competence.

In the courtyard, the triplets, who had just returned home from school, chirped and chattered around Hua Mutou like three little sparrows.

"Great-Grandpa, Great-Grandpa! Is your good friend, Great-Grandpa Zhou, really coming to our house?"

"Did Grandpa Zhou also tell stories?"

"Was his story interesting?"

Three little heads tilted back, their eyes sparkling with curiosity.

Hua Mutou was overjoyed by their questions. He patted the heads of his three great-grandchildren one by one, causing his beard to stand up.

He deliberately lowered his voice and said mysteriously:

"Yes! Of course!"

"Besides, the stories Grandpa Zhou told were different from the stories my great-grandfather told about digging for wild vegetables and hunting rabbits!"

"He was telling stories about airplanes, cannons, and defending our country!"

Upon hearing this, the three pairs of big, dark eyes widened even more instantly.

Tuesday, the sky was just beginning to lighten.

Before the morning mist had completely dissipated, a specially made black extended version of the Hongqi sedan, like a sleeping lion, quietly stopped under the porch of the Zhou family's old residence.

Zhou Yanjin, dressed in a well-tailored dark gray suit, personally opened the car door for her grandfather.

His hand rested steadily on Zhou Yinchuan's elbow until the old man settled comfortably into the spacious back seat.

"Xiao Zhang, keep an eye on the road conditions and avoid bumpy rides."

His gaze shifted to the bodyguard in the driver's seat, his voice calm.

"Xiao Li, the old man's blood pressure medication, eight o'clock in the morning, half an hour after meals, not a single pill can be missed."

He then looked at the other passenger in the front seat.

"Also, the Da Hong Pao tea he loves to drink must be served at 85 degrees Celsius; if it gets cold, the water must be changed."

Zhou Yanjin gave detailed instructions.

Zhou Yinchuan waved his hand impatiently.

"Okay, okay, you're even more nagging than your mother!"

The old man complained, but the wrinkles around his eyes were full of smiles.

"Go ahead and get busy. That meeting in Zurich is important; don't let it interfere with important matters."

"grandfather."

Zhou Yanjin did not step back, but leaned down slightly and looked at the old man in the car at eye level.

Have fun over there.

This is his simplest wish as a grandson.

The car door slowly closed, cutting off the view between the grandfather and grandson.

The black sedan smoothly drove out of the mansion gate, merged into the morning city traffic, and soon disappeared around the corner.

Zhou Yanjin did not turn back immediately.

He stood there, letting the cool morning breeze ruffle the stray hairs on his forehead.

What kind of place is Baixi Village, which I have never met before?

What are the people there like?

It's astonishing that my grandfather, who has seen so much in life, could express such pure, almost childlike anticipation and longing.

The low-resolution photo involuntarily surfaced in his mind.

The three children grinned, their smiles utterly innocent and pure, as if they could cleanse the soul.

In the world he lives in, even a smile often requires precise calculation of angles and curves.

This primal and vibrant vitality was a long-lost and unfamiliar thing to him.

An inexplicable curiosity, like a tiny seed, quietly sprouted in his heart.

He took out his phone, the screen filled with numerous travel reminders, gleaming coldly in the morning light.

But he swiped past those notifications and directly accessed his contacts.

His slender fingers tapped the screen a few times, dialing a number from a remote mountain village.

The call was answered almost immediately.

"Feed? Who?"

Hua Mutou's cheerful yet slightly wary voice came through the receiver.

"Grandpa Hua, hello, I am Zhou Yanjin, the grandson of Zhou Yinchuan."

Zhou Yanjin's voice unconsciously softened.

"Grandpa has already set off. If the journey goes smoothly, he should arrive at your village around 4 p.m.

"Oh my! It's Yan Jin!"

Hua Mutou's voice instantly rose eight octaves, filled with surprise.

"Okay! Okay! 4 PM! Our whole family will be waiting at the village entrance!"

"Thank you for your help."

"No trouble at all! Not at all! We're overjoyed that you could come!"

After hanging up the phone, Zhou Yanjin stood there in silence for a moment.

His back was straight, yet it carried a hint of loneliness that was not easily noticed.

Meanwhile, in Baixi Village, thousands of miles away, Hua Mutou's phone call was like a pebble thrown into a calm lake, instantly creating ripples of joy.

"Old man, who is it? Making such a racket so early in the morning?"

Li Guifen came out of the kitchen carrying a basin of freshly washed vegetables.

"Yan Jin! It's Yin Chuan's grandson, Yan Jin, calling!"

Hua Mutou was so excited that his face turned red, and he even forgot to put down the old-fashioned telephone in his hand.

"They said they'd arrive at 4 PM!"

"4 o'clock?"

Li Guifen slammed the basin she was holding onto the table with a clatter.

"We'd better hurry! I'll go sweep the yard again! We can't let our distinguished guests from the city see a single fallen leaf!"

As she spoke, she picked up a bamboo broom from the corner of the wall and rushed into the yard.

The manner of the event suggested that it wasn't just sweeping the floor, but rather conducting a high-level ceremony to welcome distinguished guests.

She swept the cracks in the stone slabs in the yard clean, revealing the natural color of the moss.

At the sheep farm, Hua Yun also received a phone call from her father, Hua Shu.

"Daughter! 4 o'clock! Grandpa Zhou and the others will arrive at 4 o'clock this afternoon!"

"Okay, Dad!"

Hua Yun walked to the huge earthenware jar, inside which was a young ram that she had personally selected and had been marinated for a day and a night with dozens of spices and herbs.

Meanwhile, in the Hua family's old house, Grandma Hua was taking out three brand-new, identical red jackets from a locked camphor wood chest, calling to the triplets who were on leave from work.

"Come here, my three little darlings!"

She smiled and waved towards the courtyard.

The triplets burst in like three little cannonballs, their eyes fixed on the new clothes in their grandmother's hands.

"Quick, put on your new clothes! Great-Grandpa Zhou is coming soon!"

Grandma carefully dressed the children in new clothes, their little faces rosy from being rubbed, like three ripe apples.

They excitedly spun around in place, their brand-new clothes creating tiny whirlwinds.

Her little face was filled with the purest excitement and anticipation, her eyes sparkling. She ran to the threshold again and again, tiptoeing to look at the main road at the village entrance.

The entire Baixi Village seemed to have been completely awakened from its slumber.

As the morning light pierced through the thin mist, it edged Baixi Lake with a dazzling golden rim. The lake's surface was like a mirror, reflecting the green mountains and trees, making it as beautiful as an ink wash painting.

The birdsong in the bamboo grove was even clearer than usual.

Villagers, in twos and threes, walked along the village road, all with kind smiles on their faces, asking each other questions.

"Have you heard? Uncle Wood's old comrade-in-arms, a big shot from the big city, is here today!"

"Yes, yes, I heard he's a great hero!"

It was as if even the mountain breeze carried a whisper of anticipation, gently caressing this tranquil yet vibrant little mountain village.

Meanwhile, the black Hongqi sedan was driving smoothly on the wide highway.

The carriage was so quiet that you could hear the faint sound of the air conditioning blowing out.

The view outside the window gradually changed from towering buildings to rolling fields and undulating mountains.

Zhou Yinchuan did not rest.

He leaned back in the soft leather seat, his eyes fixed intently on the rapidly receding greenery outside the window.

His thoughts had already flown back to more than half a century ago, to that era of war and turmoil.

He and Hua Mutou, one with a fiery temper and the other as steady as a mountain, became brothers who could entrust their backs to each other through thick and thin.

This separation lasted for most of my life.

Bodyguard Xiao Li saw in the rearview mirror that the old man was humming an off-key military song.