A whirlwind marriage: The real heiress marries a warlord.

At the end of August 1997, Cheng Xuan returned to Nancheng for the fourth time.

She is the secretary-general of the Hong Kong Preparatory Committee, and has been busy with the handover in recent years, making numerous trips back and forth.

When people who received her praised her for speaking good Mandarin, she would always reply, "I'm from Nancheng. During the War of Resistance against Japan, my grandmother donated all her wealth; several members of my family were martyrs."

The other person expressed admiration and gratitude, and asked her, "When you mentioned wanting to relocate the grave last time, was it for your grandmother?"

Cheng Xuan, usually serious, dressed impeccably, and with neatly combed hair, smiled for once: "My grandmother is still alive; she's ninety-three years old this year. This is to relocate the graves of my grandmother's parents. The elders in the family all want to be buried in their ancestral land."

He added, "My grandfather is also alive."

She was busy with something, so her personal secretary came over and asked her to answer the phone.

Holding the phone was cumbersome, and Cheng Xuan gripped it tightly with both hands as he listened to the old man's loud voice on the other end.

Cheng Xuan listened patiently before speaking: "We're discussing it. It can be bought and sold; it's not considered a cultural relic. The process is already underway."

He added, "You shouldn't go there for now; the houses there are dilapidated and dangerous."

They said a few more words on the phone, then hung up.

Cheng Xuan put away the brick-sized handheld phone and said to his personal secretary, Ms. Zhou, "Go to Runhe Road right away and stop the old man and the old lady."

Miss Zhou agreed.

When Miss Zhou arrived at Runhe Road, the old man was talking to someone. His voice was very strong, and he didn't sound like a 97-year-old. Some people would believe he was 80.

His hair was completely white, but his eyes were clear.

Several staff members around him also helped to persuade him.

He stubbornly insisted, "It's my own home, of course I can go in. I haven't lost it."

Miss Zhou was shocked and hurriedly stepped forward: "Sir, please watch your words."

"What should I be careful about? My identity is clear, and the government has awarded me a medal." He said, pulling out a medal.

Miss Zhou, being quite politically astute, was terrified upon hearing this. She was about to advise him to hide it quickly when she looked closer and realized it was a replacement medal of merit.

It was a false alarm.

The elderly woman standing beside her was elegant and slender, yet nimble in her legs.

She told Miss Zhou, "The old man made great contributions during the War of Resistance against Japan and even provided relief to Commander Shi's army. Later, when Commander Shi became the mayor of Nancheng, he knew that there were many martyrs in the old man's army, so he specially issued many medals. He also gave the old man one."

The relief for Commander Shi happened during the period of cooperation during the War of Resistance.

Later, the old man was wounded, and two months before the victory of the War of Resistance, he was forced to go to Hong Kong for recuperation. He was relieved of all his duties in the army and became just an ordinary person.

Later, when the country faced difficulties in the 1960s, the Cheng family also donated a lot of money.

"Yes, the old man has performed meritorious service, which the government acknowledges. But the formalities here haven't been completed yet, so we can't go in," Ms. Zhou said.

He added, "The Secretary-General is currently handling the situation, and we cannot afford any mistakes at this time."

Cheng Tianxun found the younger generation to be quite troublesome.

He looked at Qin Yan: "The house is still there, but all the flowers and trees are destroyed, what a pity."

Qin Yan has been away from her hometown for fifty-two years, and she still thinks about her gardenia tree.

Her granddaughter is on the preparatory committee, so the Cheng family has put a lot of effort into promoting this matter over the years. Cheng Tianxun and Qin Yan both want to go home and visit.

His children and grandchildren were worried and kept saying that the situation was uncertain and that they should wait until the port was returned to China before making any decisions.

It was delayed until today.

The grass and trees in the courtyard grew wildly, all the doors and windows of the house were broken, and half of the wall was about to collapse, making it impossible to enter. People might be injured by falling roof ridges or tiles.

Qin Yan and Cheng Tianxun left.

"Qin Feng said last time that he wanted to come to Nancheng and open another Baihua Times," Qin Yan said.

Qin Feng is Ling Manyun's grandson.

During the War of Resistance against Japan, Cheng Tianxun and Qin Yao both persevered until victory; they emptied their family fortunes, wiped out their armies, and suffered heavy casualties.

Several martyrs from the Lan family.

Du Jia gave all her businesses to Qin Yan, who donated them all during the War of Resistance against Japan. Later, she went to Gangcheng to seek refuge with Cen Yan, which allowed her to have food to eat.

At that time, Ling Manyun ran a newspaper in Guangzhou. After the war ended, Qin Yao was not injured, but his negligence led to the death of his beloved youngest son in front of him, which caused Qin Yao great psychological trauma.

He often woke up from nightmares, covered in cold sweat, holding Ling Manyun and insisting on hiding her away.

In 1950, Ling Manyun left the newspaper to Qin Yan, who had settled in Hong Kong, and took Qin Yao to travel far and wide to relax. They eventually settled in Singapore.

It was only after leaving his homeland that Qin Yao's spirits slowly recovered.

Cen Yan's business is extremely large, with operations in both Hong Kong and Singapore.

When Cheng Tianxun and his wife, along with the Xiang family, went to seek refuge with him, they were all penniless, with almost nothing left. It was Cen Yan who preserved their legacy.

Cen Yan's business was very large, even when the South Seas were engulfed in gunfire.

He and Lin Zi have five children. With so many children and his advancing age, it's inconvenient for him to travel between the two places, so Ling Manyun helps him manage many of his businesses in Singapore.

Afterwards, the business in Singapore was transferred to Ling Manyun and Qin Yao, and Cen Yan only received a share of the profits.

Cheng Tianxun and Qin Yan stayed in Hong Kong, where he and Cen Yan expanded their business.

The newspaper in Guangzhou closed down for various reasons, but reopened ten years ago, still using the name "Baihua Shibao" (Vernacular Times).

Ling Manyun's eldest grandson, Qin Feng, manages the newspaper, and he even wants to return to Nancheng to open another branch.

"Do you agree?" Cheng Tianxun asked her.

Qin Yan nodded: "Of course I agree. This is where Manjun and I started our newspaper business."

"The eldest son's youngest daughter can also be sent over to manage the newspaper," Cheng Tianxun said.

"Her name is Cheng Qing. If you can't remember her name, she'll get angry with you again," Qin Yan said.

My granddaughter has quite a temper. Kids these days are all very opinionated.

Cheng Tianxun and Qin Yan have three children: their eldest son, second daughter, and youngest son.

All three children survived.

Cheng Xuan is their eldest granddaughter, their first grandchild, and the most promising one. She now works in the government and plans to run for Chief Executive in the future.

The eldest son also has a younger daughter named Cheng Qing, who is the fifth among her cousins. She is 25 years old, speaks several languages, and has been working as a journalist.

They have seven grandchildren, each one quite accomplished and capable. Even the most dissolute and good-for-nothing among them are handsome and presentable, pleasing to the eye.

"Perhaps Cheng Qing can marry Qin Feng. I used to think about a marriage between my child and Manyun's child, but unfortunately, things didn't work out, and none of the children were compatible," Qin Yan said.

"Qin Feng is several years older than her, isn't he?"

"They're six years apart. At the last dinner gathering, they mentioned they were alumni and got along very well," Qin Yan said.

Cheng Tianxun: "You remember everything, Ms. Turtle. I can't believe you're ninety-three years old."

His memory is still so good; he knows everything that happens at home and outside, without missing a single thing. Cheng Tianxun sometimes forgets the children's names, but he remembers their appearance and birth order.

"That's how turtles are; the older they get, the more energetic they become," Qin Yan said. "I still have seven years before I turn one hundred."

"You will surely get what you want in this life." Cheng Tianxun held her hand.

The couple were both agile, but their hands were loose and felt exceptionally warm to the touch.

The eldest granddaughter, Cheng Xuan, is very busy, but she still makes time to return to Nancheng.

In 1998, when the policy on commercial housing in Nancheng was issued, Cheng Xuan successfully acquired the land where Cheng Tianxun's villa was located and built a villa there.

She reserved one spot, the place where Cheng Tianxun had specially returned to guide the reconstruction of his former villa, to build a new residence.

The project is progressing extremely quickly.

At the beginning of the new millennium, the house was completed, and the surrounding houses were all sold, leaving only the one for my own residence to be renovated.

Cheng Tianxun is about to turn 100.

The children are doing their best to restore the house from its original state, hoping to celebrate his 100th birthday. He and Qin Yan plan to retire here.

It won't be many years.

After they pass away, they will be buried in the southern part of the city, returning to their roots.

Cheng Qing specially found an extremely large gardenia tree and transplanted it to the front yard of the villa, directly opposite the window of the small study on the first floor.

She and her new husband, Qin Feng, also settled in Nancheng.

She manages the vernacular newspaper while also taking care of her elderly grandparents.

"You and your grandfather have been married for seventy years, and your relationship has remained as good as ever. Do you never quarrel?" Cheng Qing asked Qin Yan.

Qin Yan: "It was so noisy, we even fought."

Cheng Qing's eyes widened: "You can beat him?"

"I've never lost," Qin Yan said.

Cheng Qing couldn't help but laugh.

She was newly married. Qin Feng was six years older than her, and they encountered a minor setback not long after their marriage. She asked Qin Yan for advice on the secrets of marriage.

Qin Yan wasn't good at lecturing; he simply listened quietly to his granddaughter's complaints.

The young woman cheered up after talking for a while, then went inside to call her husband and arrange their evening date.

Two deck chairs were placed under the eaves, where Qin Yan and Cheng Tianxun chatted. On a small tea table next to them, a crystal glass bowl contained pure white gardenias.

She was a little sleepy.

Smelling the faint fragrance of flowers, she dozed off, vaguely recalling the day she first met Cheng Tianxun.

(End of the article)

——*——*——

I've finished writing another book.

The initial idea for this book was to write a short story of about 300,000 words, focusing on love.

However, I'm primarily an emotional person, and plans often fall short of reality; when emotions run high, nothing can stop them. Readers often ask how long this book is, which is a difficult question to answer. Revealing the word count in advance might backfire. In this respect, I'm also very organized and dislike things that I don't want to say will turn out chaotic.

In retrospect, the plot and word count of this book matched my plan perfectly, the order was perfect, and it was very enjoyable.

Looking back at the content of this book, it seems there's nothing new; it's a story about maintaining one's comfort zone. I've written another fairy tale set in the Republican era. Writing in my comfort zone feels like listening to the rain and watching the snow in a treehouse or glass enclosure—safe and peaceful, which I really enjoy.

I saw many old friends this time, and also recognized a few new ones. Thank you all for your company. See you in the next book!