To please others? It's better to please yourself.

The unusual outfits worn by Duoduo and Xu Jianguo had already made them the focus of attention in the crowd.

That unique, rustic charm was obvious to anyone with eyes.

"Is the lady busy?"

"My wife and I just got back from the Northwest!"

"The development of Northwest China is really great now!"

"I'll go see it sometime; the stars there are so beautiful!"

"Have you seen the newspaper? It says it's about the tree my husband and I planted ourselves! It's growing so well!"

They greeted anyone they recognized along the way.

The couple deliberately took a long detour from the street office before slowly walking to the entrance of the machinery factory's residential compound.

"Hey—comrades, who are you looking for?" Aunt Wang, carrying a vegetable basket, came over and asked.

Xu Jianguo looked up and realized it was Aunt Wang, who lived across the street. The key figure in the compound was right in front of him, so what was he waiting for?

"Auntie, it's me, Jianguo! Xu Jianguo, the eldest son of the Xu family who lives across the hall from you!"

Duoduo chimed in, "Aunt Wang, I'm Jianguo's wife!"

Aunt Wang rubbed her eyes and looked closely. The skin of the two people opposite her had long since changed from smooth to rough, and from fair to dark red. They looked fine when they weren't smiling, but when they did, several wrinkles appeared around their eyes.

She exclaimed in surprise, "It really is you two! Oh my, you've changed so much, you must have suffered a lot!"

She turned around and ran back while calling out, "Jianguo's mom—Jianguo's mom—, look who's back!" Her movements were so nimble that you couldn't tell she was a woman in her early seventies!

Some kind-hearted people turned and ran out to inform the rest of the Xu family.

Not long after Aunt Wang left, the sound of gongs and drums came from outside. The sound grew louder as it approached the residential compound, and then came the crackling of firecrackers.

Although many people have gone to work or school, quite a few remain in the residential compound. Moreover, these people are the main messengers of information within the compound.

By this time, a crowd of onlookers had already formed a dense circle.

The director of the neighborhood committee personally brought a big red flower and led a team to deliver it to the couple with gongs and drums.

Holding their calloused hands, he solemnly said, "Welcome back, our desertification control heroes!"

Then came thunderous applause and the joyful laughter of children.

……

When Xu's mother returned from visiting neighbors, she was about to sit down and have a drink of water. Just as she picked up her teacup, she heard someone calling her.

She opened the door, but before she could even ask a question, Aunt Wang pulled her outside. Once they reached the building, they saw a large crowd gathered at the entrance to the courtyard.

Aunt Wang was unusually excited at this moment: "Make way—make way—" "Make way—make way—"

Pushing aside the tightly packed crowd, Xu's mother was greeted by the two people who looked like they were fleeing a disaster.

Before Xu's mother could speak, Aunt Wang pulled Xu Jianguo over and said, "Jianguo's mother, look who this is!"

Xu's mother looked up, examined her carefully, and asked incredulously, "Jianguo?"

Xu Jianguo looked at his mother, then let go of her, and the luggage on his body fell to the ground with a thud.

With tears welling in his eyes, he took two quick steps and knelt down before his mother with a thud, crying out from the bottom of his heart, "Mom—"

Xu Duoduo followed closely behind, kneeling beside her husband with tears in her eyes, and said with deep affection, "Mom, we're back!"

Xu's mother took a step forward with a blank stare, her hands trembling as she cupped her son's face and touched it repeatedly.

"Jianguo—, my son—, you've finally returned!"

Tears streamed down her cheeks, and she kept making "woo-woo" sounds.

Xu Jianguo choked up as he said, "Mom—, I've been away from you for so many years, I'm such an unfilial son!"

The mother and son embraced and wept bitterly.

The deeply moving mother-son bond resonated in everyone's hearts. Many couldn't help but quietly wipe away their tears.

The office director's eyes reddened, and he walked out of the residential compound, sniffling.

"The Jian Guo couple have suffered all these years!"

"Of course! Is being a hero easy?"

"It's not easy being a couple!"

……

There was a lot of discussion among the crowd.

Xu's mother wiped away her tears: "Jianguo, eldest daughter-in-law, you must be exhausted from the journey. Come inside and have some water."

Xu Jianguo and Xu Duoduo also got up and carried their luggage, following behind Xu's mother. The three of them had just sat down when Xu's father, the three children, and Xu Jianshe's family entered the house one after the other.

Once the gate was closed, it blocked the view of people outside.

Xu Jianguo and Xu Duoduo knelt down in front of Xu's parents and kowtowed.

Xu Jianguo looked up at his parents and said, "Dad, Mom, we were so immature back then and hurt you. We've been separated for ten years. It's been so difficult to get out here, and that's when I realized how good home is."

"Everything our son has comes from his parents. How can he harbor resentment? They say that a mother feels the pain of a child's misfortune. Our son was wrong!"

After Xu Jianguo finished speaking through tears, he kowtowed to the ground and began to sob.

Duoduo took two steps forward on her knees: "Mom, I did have some complaints about you at first. But after thinking about it carefully, I realized that you and Dad haven't done anything to wrong us. We were the ones who were ungrateful!"

"You raised our three children with your own hands. No matter where you are, you are always grateful to your daughter-in-law."

"We, as a couple, can't offer you anything else. Please accept this as a token of our gratitude, we'll kowtow three times to you and Dad!"

As soon as they finished speaking, Xu Duoduo and Xu Jianguo kowtowed three times to the old couple.

Even when Xu's parents tried to stop him, they couldn't.

Xu's mother helped them both up, one in each arm. "What parent would hold a grudge against their children?"

Mr. Xu said with satisfaction, "Living a down-to-earth life is better than anything else!"

Xu Jianshe's initial amusement gradually subsided, and his expression turned serious. It seemed his previous plans really had to be abandoned!

Just as the eldest son and his wife were about to turn around and walk over, Zhao Xiaofang nudged Xu Jianshe with her elbow.

Xu Jianshe immediately composed himself.

Xu Jianguo walked up to Xu Jianshe, looked into his eyes, and said guiltily, "Fourth brother, what we did back then was dishonest. As the eldest brother and sister-in-law, instead of being considerate of our younger brother, we had designs on you."

Xu Duoduo then said sincerely, "You suffered a lot while you were in the countryside. We can't just come back and make things up. My husband and I apologize to you!"

Without stopping for a moment, the two bowed deeply to Xu Jianshe.

Xu Jianshe's eyes immediately welled up with tears, and he hugged Xu Jianguo tightly: "Brother, sister-in-law, what are you saying? We're brothers, even if our bones are broken, our blood will still be connected."

"Besides, I've also let you down. To be honest, I regretted it after just over a month."

"Brother and sister-in-law, I also want to apologize to you." When Xu Jianshe was about to bow, he was stopped by the eldest brother and sister-in-law.

The three Xu brothers, Xu Xiangqian, Xu Xiangjin, and Xu Xianghua, were all stunned by what they saw.

Everyone's behavior is different from what they expected! The key issue is that their personas don't match!

They now doubt: Is this still the place where they live? Is this loving and warm family still the familiar Xu family they know?

Later, the three of them exchanged glances and realized that this was not an illusion.

Life is a long journey, and they still have a long way to go!