Returning wealthy individuals develop their hometowns and become rich in the 1980s

Chen Zaixing hurriedly rode Cai Gensheng's hand-operated tractor towards the entrance of Lianzhai Village. At the village brigade entrance, the village secretary led two police officers into the village, introducing the houses to them as they walked: "This is Chen Xianfu's courtyard, and next door is Chen Xianhai's. They haven't separated their households yet, and more than a dozen people are all crammed into one courtyard."

After turning another alleyway, they saw a house with much of its outer wall peeling away, revealing a cobblestone wall underneath. The village secretary pointed to the old courtyard and said to the two policemen, "This is Chen Xiangui's ancestral home. Uncle Shengyu used to live here, and his wife is seventy-nine this year!"

One of the police officers sensed a hidden meaning in the village secretary's words and casually asked, "You mean the old lady is still alive?"

"Yes, that's right. Auntie is in very good health. Now that she's old, her children and grandchildren don't let her go to the fields anymore. A few years ago, she could carry a hundred and fifty pounds of grain all by herself from the field to the main road without even breaking a sweat!"

Upon hearing this, the old policeman exclaimed, "Wow! That old lady's health is even better than some young people. These young people in the city nowadays can't lift a finger or carry anything heavy. They're far inferior to that old lady."

Upon hearing this, the village secretary smiled but did not reply. He then led two policemen to push open the gate of Chen Xiangui's house. At this moment, the house was in chaos. Chen Xiangui's second brother, Chen Xianfu, and third brother, Chen Xianhai, and their families had also come to the ancestral home. Dozens of people were crowded in the hall, all of them with flushed faces.

"What's going on? Why are so many people here today?" The village secretary led two policemen inside and saw that it was almost like a village meeting.

"Secretary Tian, ​​what brings you here?" Chen Xiangui hurriedly came out when he saw that the person was the village secretary. He was stunned when he saw the two policemen behind the village secretary. Could it be that Lao Si had asked the village brigade to call the police station?

"Xianggui, these two police officers are here to ask you something," said Party Secretary Tian, ​​stepping aside. The older of the two officers stepped forward, took out a photograph from his bag, and handed it to Chen Xianggui, asking, "Have you seen this person in the photo before? Do you know him?"

This photo was taken by Director Wang, who took Chen Dong's old photo to a photo studio and had it re-photographed and developed in an expedited manner. Chen Xiangui scratched his head and looked at the photo. It looked familiar, but he just couldn't remember where he had seen it before.

Chen Xianfu, standing behind him, leaned over, glanced at the photo in his older brother's hand, and pointed, saying, "Eldest brother, isn't this the one our mother hung in the inner room in the frame? It's an old photo of Father, Mother, and Second Uncle. Mother is even holding you here!"

"Oh my!" Chen Xiangui slapped his thigh. "No wonder this looks so familiar, I just can't quite place where I've seen it before. Turns out it's an old family photo! Officer, where did you get this old family photo?"

"Don't worry about that for now. Bring me your family photos so I can take a look first," the elderly policeman said with a smile.

Hearing this from behind, Chen Xianhai hurriedly rushed into his mother's inner room. A short while later, he heard his mother's angry shouts: "Who told you to touch the picture frame? Are you out of your mind? Touching my picture frame? I'll break your leg with my cane!"

"Mom, the police want to see this," came Chen Xianhai's aggrieved voice from inside the house.

"No one is allowed to touch my photo frame," said the old lady Wei Shufen, leaning on her cane as she walked out of the inner room, pulling Chen Xianhai by the ear and dragging him out of the inner room.

"Mom, look at this. Isn't it exactly the same as the one in your photo frame?" Chen Xiangui saw his mother pulling on his third son Chen Xianhai's ear and quickly stepped in to smooth things over.

My mother usually dotes on two people the most: her beloved eldest grandson Chen Zaiguang and her youngest son Chen Xianhai. But if anyone dares to touch her photo frame, she will beat both her eldest grandson and youngest son without hesitation.

The old lady, Wei Shufen, took the photograph from Chen Xiangui's hand, examined it closely under the candlelight, and immediately burst into tears. She released her hand from Chen Xianhai's ear and tremblingly stroked the photograph, asking, "Comrade, where did you get this photograph?"

"Grandma, do you recognize all the people in this photo?" The elderly police officer didn't answer Wei Shufen's question directly, but asked again.

"Of course I recognize him, how could I not?" The old lady smiled, her eyes crinkling, and pointed to the man sitting inside. "This is my husband, Chen Shengyu. This is me, this is the eldest brother, and this..."

"It's my second uncle, Chen Shengyu. He went to Southeast Asia when he was eighteen. Before he left, the old man said that the family should take a picture together as a memento. But that trip has lasted for fifty-nine years!"

"The old man kept waiting for him to come back, and he kept talking about his second brother Shengyu before he died," said the old lady Wei Shufen, tears streaming down her face. She was clearly saddened by the memories of the past.

Seeing Wei Shufen's state, the two policemen quickly pulled out handkerchiefs and handed them to the old lady. "Grandma, we have some good news for you. Your second uncle Chen Shengyu's grandson, Chen Dong, has returned to China from America with his wife and children to look for his relatives. They are currently at the county guesthouse."

"real!"

Wei Shufen grabbed the old policeman's hand that was handing her the handkerchief, so hard that the policeman's face twitched involuntarily, thinking to himself that this old lady had a really strong grip.

"It's true, we're police officers, we're not lying!"

"Don't lie to this old woman, don't lie to this old woman," the old lady Wei Shufen muttered repeatedly, "At least I can give this old man some closure!"

The Chen family's sons, grandsons, and daughters-in-law, who were listening quietly in the hall, looked at each other in bewilderment. Their overseas Chinese relative, America, had come back to look for her family!

The others were pleasantly surprised, but Chen Xiangui was somewhat worried. He whispered to Secretary Tian beside him, "Secretary Tian, ​​what do you think about this? My family has been poor farmers for three generations..."

He's scared!

I'm afraid that because we have a foreign relative, our class status will change, and the village committee will take back our land.

Party Secretary Tian patted Chen Xiangui on the shoulder with a smile, "Xiangui, the country is about to implement economic reforms. The issue of class background is old news. Don't worry, it won't harm you."

Chen Xiangui wanted to hear those reassuring words from Party Secretary Tian. Hearing this, he finally smiled and said to his mother, "Mother, since our nephew has come back to find his relatives, how about I go to the county guesthouse to get to know them?"

"What's the rush?" Old lady Wei Shufen glared at Chen Xiangui with annoyance, then asked the elderly policeman, "Comrade, are you sure it's my second uncle's son who went to Southeast Asia?"

"Don't worry, old man, this photo is a re-photograph of the old photo that Comrade Chen Dong always carried with him. Here is also a two-inch photo of Comrade Chen Dong. Take a look," the old policeman said, taking out the two-inch portrait of Chen Dong taken at the photo studio and handing it to Wei Shufen.

"So alike, so incredibly alike!"