Huayu: Returned Overseas Chinese

Upon hearing this, Chen Jingming, Liu Yifei, and their entourage all fell silent, while Wang An, Yang Ye, and Wang Mei remained expressionless.

Chen Jingming sighed softly, looked at the other classrooms, and then walked towards the area where the children were running.

"Brother Jingming." A hint of reluctance flashed in Liu Yifei's eyes as she gently tugged at Chen Jingming and called out softly.

Upon hearing this, Chen Jingming turned his head, glanced at Liu Yifei's expression, and immediately knew what she wanted to say. So he whispered to her, "Don't worry."

Liu Yifei breathed a sigh of relief upon hearing this. The group stood at the edge of the venue, and the children, seeing so many people and the principal accompanying them, stood reservedly at a distance, watching.

Chen Jingming looked them over carefully and could even recognize some of the children's faces as people he would later become acquainted with, so he asked, "Is this a physical education class?"

"I guess so." After what had just happened, Wang Mei no longer hid anything and said frankly, "Kids in the countryside don't have any proper physical education classes. They just run around and jump and play around. There isn't even a dedicated physical education teacher, and the kids don't really have any concept of sports. They just know that they don't have to go to class and can come out and play."

As soon as he finished speaking, everyone laughed. Chen Jingming smiled slightly as well; Principal Wang's words, though straightforward, were true in their reasoning.

"Principal Wang, thank you for your help. We'll stop here for today. There are still people waiting over there. We'll get together another day." Chen Jingming glanced at the few familiar children again, then turned around and said.

Wang Mei nodded. She didn't take Chen Jingming's "another day" seriously, assuming it was just a passing fancy.

Wang Mei escorted everyone to the school gate, and only after watching them disappear around the corner of the wall did she turn back.

After getting into the car, Liu Yifei glanced at Xu Hu in the driver's seat. Seeing that he wasn't paying attention, she leaned closer to Chen Jingming and whispered, "Brother Jingming, why do I feel like you know this place really well?"

"Haha, is it that obvious?" Chen Jingming laughed, but his heart was in his throat. He then explained, "After all, this is where my grandfather grew up. Some things are etched in our blood, so it's natural to feel familiar here. Just like no matter which country we go to in the world, we always remember that we are Chinese."

Liu Yifei rolled her eyes upon hearing this and said irritably, "I'm not a three-year-old. You think you can fool me? If you don't want to talk about it, then forget it."

Chen Jingming immediately said, "Actually, I came back from the future, do you believe me?"

Upon hearing this, Liu Yifei immediately sat up straight, her face stern, and said in a low voice, "Your excuse is even more perfunctory than before. If you've come back from the future, then tell me, will I become a world superstar?"

"Yes, yes, yes, you will definitely become a future superstar." Chen Jingming breathed a sigh of relief when he saw that she didn't believe him, and quickly affirmed.

Liu Yifei glared at him, then decided to ignore him for ten minutes in a huff, before turning to look at the countryside scenery outside the window.

Before long, the car stopped at the brigade headquarters. The village chief and others had been waiting for a long time, and there was a pile of cigarette butts on the ground.

Chen Jingming composed himself, smiled, and got out of the car, Liu Yifei following closely behind. His gaze was calm, just as it had been when they first met, showing no sign of anything amiss.

After introductions and pleasantries, village chief Chen Shi'an smiled and said to Chen Jingming, "Jingming, would you like to take a look around the village first, or go straight to your grandmother's house?"

This grandmother was a distant relative of Chen Jingming in the village, within the fifth degree of kinship. Of the older generation, she was the only one still alive; most of the others were from Chen Jingming's father's generation.

"Let's go see the old man first," Chen Jingming replied with a smile. Chen Shi'an nodded and led the way.

The old man had already passed away when Chen Jingming returned in his previous life, and he had never met him. Following behind the village chief, Chen Jingming looked around at the layout of the village. Compared to his previous life, it was much simpler now, and very few families could afford to build new houses.

The group arrived at an old, somewhat dated house, adobe dwelling surrounded by a bamboo fence. Chen Shi'an stood at the door and called out loudly, "Aunt Xiuyun, are you home?"

Inside the house, Li Xiuyun was listening to the radio on the table with her eyes half-closed. Hearing the noise outside, she pushed open the old wooden door with her cane, making a creaking sound.

She was old and her eyesight wasn't good. Even though they were only five or six meters apart, she still couldn't see who it was, so she asked, "Who is it?"

"Aunt Xiuyun, it's me, Shi'an." Chen Shi'an raised his voice again. Chen Jingming moved to the side, his ears ringing.

Chen Shian noticed his actions and explained in a low voice, "Aunt Xiuyun's hearing and eyesight aren't very good; she can't hear if the voice is too soft."

Before she finished speaking, Li Xiuyun walked over, glared at Chen Shi'an, and said, "You little brat, are you looking for a beating? My ears are perfectly fine." As she spoke, she raised her cane and waved it at him.

Everyone laughed when they saw this. They were really like children, sometimes even more amusing than children.

Li Xiuyun carefully examined everyone, and when her gaze fell on Chen Jingming, she suddenly blurted out, "You're from the Yue family?"

Upon hearing this, not only was Chen Jingming stunned, but Chen Shi'an was also taken aback and quickly asked, "Aunt Xiuyun, how did you know he was the grandson of Yue Shanbo?"

Ignoring Chen Shi'an, Li Xiuyun went straight forward and grabbed Chen Jingming. She then looked behind the crowd, but didn't see the person she wanted to see. Suddenly, she sighed, "Yue Shan isn't here either?"

Chen Jingming felt a pang of sadness and softly hummed in agreement. Upon hearing this, Li Xiuyun took his hand and turned to go inside.

Upon entering the house, Chen Jingming looked around and saw that the walls were cracked in many places, and a trace of heartache flashed across his eyes.

Li Xiuyun pulled Chen Jingming down to sit and asked gently, "Where are your parents? Why didn't they come back with you?"

"My parents are gone too," Chen Jingming replied softly.

Li Xiuyun was taken aback. She raised her hand to wipe the corner of her eye, looked up at Chen Jingming carefully, and said with emotion, "Poor child. It's good that you're back. From now on, everyone here is your family. Don't leave again."

"Aunt Xiuyun, Jingming is studying at a university in the capital, how can he not leave?" Chen Shi'an, seeing that Chen Jingming didn't know how to respond, quickly smoothed things over.

"Going to university?" Li Xiuyun murmured, then cheered up. "Going to university is good, it means a bright future! Yue Shan would be so happy if he knew."

"Grandma, you don't look that old, how come you're so familiar with my grandpa?" Chen Jingming asked curiously.

Without hesitation, Li Xiuyun replied with a smile, "In our village, there aren't many people with other surnames; my family is one of them. Your grandfather, Yueshan, and I practically grew up together. Besides, I'm not young anymore; I'm over eighty. Your grandfather was the oldest among our generation back then, and he always led the way when going up the mountain or down the river. How could I forget him?"

After hearing this, Chen Jingming suddenly understood. Although it was rare for women from other families to marry into the village, it did happen, which explained why the old man recognized her at a glance.

The group sat in the house for over an hour, listening to many stories about his grandfather's childhood, before finally getting up to leave. Li Xiuyun was very reluctant to part with Chen Jingming and wanted him to stay for dinner, but Chen Jingming politely declined, saying he had other matters to attend to and would visit her again next time.

After exiting the gate and walking a short distance, Chen Jingming looked back and saw Li Xiuyun still leaning on her cane, standing at the gate, watching the group from afar, as if she were saying goodbye, or perhaps she was reluctant to part.

"Jingming, what are the plans for the next step?" On the way, Chen Shi'an looked at the quiet Chen Jingming and asked.

"Village chief, let's take a stroll around the village and head back to the city later. We'll come back tomorrow to help my grandfather find a burial site," Chen Jingming replied with a smile.

Chen Shi'an nodded upon hearing this and casually said, "Then you guys can look around on your own. I have something to do. Let me know when you're leaving."

"Okay, you go ahead and get busy," Chen Jingming replied with a smile, and then the two parted ways.